When In Doubt
by mattnme04
Summary: Oneshot - Gabriella thinks Troy is cheating on her. He has been canceling dates, but not giving good explanations for why. He is distracted and distancing himself from her and their families. Can they pull through?


Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez were both seniors at their respective colleges. Troy had decided to go to the University of California – Berkeley while Gabriella had done well enough in school to get into Stanford University.

Troy and Gabriella had met their junior year of high school while they were on vacation. When Gabriella began attending Troy's high school a couple weeks later, they became instant friends and soon became much more. They began dating and have been dating since.

When they each began deciding on colleges, Gabriella's choice was easy. Troy's however was much harder. He wanted to go to a college that offered what he was interested in, but he also wanted to be close to Gabriella.

His friends kept pressuring him into choosing something close to home because it didn't matter if he wasn't close to Gabriella. All his friends thought that Troy and Gabriella's relationship was just a high school thing. However, they both found that it was much more, and neither one could stand the thought of being away from each other. That is why Troy chose to attend Berkeley. When he wanted to see her, it was only about a 30 minute drive.

Troy and Gabriella had both gotten apartments near their colleges so they could spend time alone with each other no matter where they were without having to worry about a roommate walking in and spoiling their time together.

It was Sunday and Gabriella was at her apartment waiting on Troy to get there. They haven't gotten together for a couple of days and she missed him terribly. She was cooking dinner for him. She looked at the clock…only 30 more minutes and he should be here. Just as she was turning back around to continue cooking, she heard her phone start ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe. I'm not going to be able to make it."

"What? Why not? I've already started dinner. Plus we haven't seen each other in two days."

"I'm really sorry. Something has come up. I gotta go. But I'll call you later."

Gabriella heard him hang up before she could say anything else. What could have possibly been more important than them getting together?

Gabriella shut the stove off, dumping everything she had been cooking down the garbage disposal. She went to her room and changed out of the dress she had on. She came back to the living room in her pajamas and curled up on the couch, trying to find something to watch on TV. Gabriella waited four hours for Troy to call. He never did, though. She eventually fell asleep on the couch.

When she woke up the next morning, Gabriella remembered the previous night and was saddened by the fact that she had just wanted a special evening with her boyfriend but he obviously had other plans.

Gabriella got up and went to class. That afternoon, she got a call from her mom. Her mom was planning on coming into town from Albuquerque to see her and Troy. Troy's parents were also coming. They could only be in town Friday night, though. Gabriella told her that was fine and that she would let Troy know and they would meet at a restaurant for dinner on Friday. Gabriella finished out her day, hoping to hear from Troy at some point. Around 9 that night, she finally got a call from him.

"Hey babe, sorry about last night. I feel horrible."

"No, don't. It's ok, really. I was just disappointed because I miss you and just want to see you. But I know this week is going to be next to impossible until the weekend since both of us are so busy finishing up the semester."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I feel really bad about canceling."

"But hey, I'll see you Friday night, though."

"Oh, you will, huh?" Troy asked in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, we're going to have dinner with our parents. They're coming to see us!"

"Seriously? That's awesome!"

"Yeah, but they will only be here Friday night. They have to get back to Albuquerque."

"Oh ok. I can't wait to see you. Just let me know what restaurant and I will meet you there. I better go babe so we can both get some sleep. I love you."

"I love you, too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Gabriella went to bed that night with a smile on her face. Things were fine between her and Troy. He was just busy. They only had three more weeks until graduation and both were extremely busy finishing up assignments for their classes.

When Friday arrived, Gabriella went to meet the parents at the restaurant. When she got there, the three of them were already seated and waiting.

"Hey guys! Troy should be here soon."

Troy's parents, Jack and Lucille, looked at each other and frowned before Jack spoke. "He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Gabriella was confused by this question.

"He's not coming. He called us and apologized but he said that he just couldn't get away tonight. He said he had too much to do.

"No, he didn't call," Gabriella said quietly. She sat down in the seat Jack had offered her and looked at her menu, not wanting to make eye contact with any of the parents knowing that her eyes would give away how she was really feeling.

Throughout dinner, Gabriella was very quiet and the parents knew why. They all looked at one another sadly, knowing that Gabriella just wanted to see Troy.

"Gabriella, honey, I'm sorry Troy couldn't be here. I know how much you like to spend time with him. But just think, this is the first time we have gotten you all to ourselves." Maria said as she lightly patted Gabriella on the back. Gabriella smiled at this, knowing it was true. She and Troy were always together and people hardly ever saw them apart.

"I know, Mom. And I really do enjoy spending time with you guys. But this is just bothering me more tonight than it probably should. This isn't the first time this week that he's done this. He's been really distant recently. I kept blaming it on stress and just not enough time to get everything done to finish up for graduation, but now its like he's making up excuses not to see me. I haven't seen him in a week and we've only talked four times since I saw him last. You want to know what his excuse for canceling our date on Sunday night was?"

"What?" asked Jack.

"Something came up."

Jack was surprised. "That's it? That's the only explanation he gave you?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I know I should trust him, but he's just been acting really weird and being very secretive. Not that I have to know everything that is going on in his life, but when he cancels a date 30 minutes before he is supposed to be there, I'd kinda like a better explanation than something came up. And for tonight it would have been nice if he could have called me too, but at least he did call someone."

"We're really sorry, Gabriella." Lucille said. She looked at Jack sadly who shook his head.

Gabriella shook her head at Lucille. "No, it's not your fault. Troy just needs to figure out what he wants and maybe even get some priorities straight. I don't understand what has had him so busy lately. I know he is finishing up the semester so he can graduate but he shouldn't have that much homework that he is working on it constantly every day. Plus, he doesn't get to see you guys that often so I don't understand what could have been so important that he had to cancel plans to see you."

The parents headed home soon after dinner, saying they were going to drive for a while, then stop for the night to rest before beginning their drive again in the morning.

Gabriella went back to her apartment and began to think about the situation with Troy. _Why didn't he come tonight? What is he up to? Is he just avoiding me? Is he upset with me? Did I do something wrong?_ Then Gabriella began to think about his excuses that he had been coming up with recently and really started to wonder about her relationship with Troy. _Is he cheating on me? Did he find someone better than me at Berkeley?_ As Gabriella began to think about all these questions, she began to doubt their relationship.

The next day, Gabriella got up and worked on some homework, trying to get it done so she could have some free time this weekend to just relax. She was still upset about last night, so when Troy tried to call her, she kept ignoring his calls.

After a while, the calls stopped, but soon there was a knock on her door. Gabriella walked over and looked through the peephole to see her boyfriend standing there. Gabriella just ignored him and went back to working on her assignments.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the balcony door of her bedroom. Apparently old habits die hard for Troy. When Gabriella had moved into this apartment, Troy had been very excited to see that she had a balcony. He knew that he could use the front door, but still enjoyed sneaking in her balcony door to see her just like he did back in high school.

When Gabriella looked over to see Troy standing on her balcony, she turned around and put her back to him. Troy saw this and looked in the door, confused by his girlfriend's actions.

"Gabriella, can I come in? Please?"

"No. I have nothing to say to you."

"What? What did I do?"

"Why don't you think about. I'm sure you can figure it out."

Troy couldn't figure it out and when he saw that Gabriella wasn't going to let him in, he sat down with his back against the door. He sat there for most of the day before it began raining. But even when it was raining, Troy continued to sit there, not phased by the weather.

Gabriella looked out onto the balcony and saw Troy sitting there, drenched from head to toe by the rain. She felt bad that he was out there getting wet and was afraid that he would get sick. She walked over to the door and opened it.

"Please come in here. You're going to get sick." Troy walked in and Gabriella walked over to her closet where she kept some of his clothes for him. She handed him the clothes and he went into the bathroom to change. When he came out, he looked at Gabriella.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to spend the day with you, but I guess you had other plans."

"Me? What about you?"

"What do you mean? What about me? What is wrong, Gabriella? Where is all this anger coming from? What did I do?"

"Where were you last night?" Gabriella shouted at him.

Troy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I…uh…I was…uh…doing some homework. I'm sorry. I called my dad and let him know. Didn't he tell you?"

"Yeah he told me. I just don't understand what could have been so much more important than getting to spend time with your parents who you hardly ever get to see."

"I apologized to them. They understood. And besides…I'll see them in a couple of weeks at graduation."

"Oh…so no big deal, right? Is that how things are going to be now? If you want to show up you will, but if not it's no big deal? What is going on with you Troy? You've changed and I don't like it."

"Again, I'm sorry. I was working on some homework. I had a paper to write and I was working on it until late last night. Listen, I'll call them and apologize and maybe we can try for next weekend."

"Next weekend? Oh…so I guess you weren't planning on going through with those plans either? Troy, we were supposed to go to New York for the weekend. What happened to that? You know what? I don't even care anymore. Let's just cancel the plans. Seems like we don't see each other enough as it is…it probably wouldn't work out anyway."

"Gabriella, please, don't be like this. I'm sorry. It just slipped my mind. I have been so busy lately."

Gabriella turned around and put her back to him and began to cry. "Troy, just leave….please." Gabriella whispered through her tears.

Troy looked down at the floor as tears came to his eyes. He turned around and was about to walk out the door when he heard Gabriella speak again.

"Who is she?"

Troy was confused. "Who is who?"

"The girl you're seeing. Who is she?"

Troy thought it was some kind of game and smiles, walking back over to look Gabriella in the eye. "Her name is Gabriella Anne Montez and she is the most beautiful young woman I have ever seen." Troy slipped his arms around Gabriella's waist, but when she heard what he said she pushed him away.

"Stop lying! I mean the girl you have been cheating on me with."

"What? What are you talking about? There is no girl."

"Then please explain why I never see you anymore. Or why you've been skipping out on all the dates we plan. Or why you are suddenly forgetting plans we have made."

"I can't believe you don't trust me! Six years and suddenly you don't trust me!" Troy had tears in his eyes. He looked at Gabriella then turned around and walked out.

Gabriella threw herself on her bed and cried. Troy drove back to Berkeley to his apartment.

The next day, Troy sulked around his apartment for most of the day. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He jumped in his car and drove to Gabriella's. He had to see her. He had to make things right with her again.

He climbed up on her balcony and looked through her door. She was lying on her bed with her back to the door. Troy opened the door quietly and slipped inside her room. He stopped when he heard her crying and talking quietly. He saw that she was looking at a picture of the two of them together. It had been taken at Christmas when they had gone home to Albuquerque. His mom had taken the picture of them when they met each other under the mistletoe.

Troy listened as Gabriella talked. "Troy, why did I let you go? Why didn't I fight for you? I just need you with me. I can't live without you." Troy wasn't sure if she was talking to him or not. Gabriella cried harder. It broke Troy's heart to hear her. Just as Troy was about to walk over to her bed, he heard her saying something again. "God, please send Troy back to me." Gabriella began sobbing again and Troy quickly made his way over to her bed.

Gabriella jumped, feeling arms wrap around her waist. She turned over and looked into those two bright blue eyes that she had been missing, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest as he laid there and held her.

Troy leaned down and began whispering in Gabriella's ear. "I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."

Gabriella looked up at Troy with red puffy eyes from all the crying she had done throughout the day. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I'll understand if you never want to forgive me, let alone see me again."

"Hey, number one: I'm here, aren't I? And like I said, I'm not going anywhere." He smiled down at her. "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not. And number two: You have no reason to need forgiveness. Its me who needs to be asking for our forgiveness. I'm so sorry that I haven't been around lately as much as we would both like for me to be. And I'm sorry that I have been so forgetful. I have just had so much to think about lately that it's all been kinda overwhelming."

"Of course, I forgive you. I love you too much to want to risk losing you again."

"You never lost me and you never will."

Troy and Gabriella laid there for a while, enjoying the feeling of being back in each others arms. Troy was the first to speak up.

"Let me make all this up to you. I want to take you out to dinner tonight. Let me prove that I am sorry."

"Troy, you don't have to do that. I know you're sorry."

"I know…but I still want to make it up to you. Plus, I do believe I owe you a date."

"Yes, you do."

Troy got up from his place on the bed, Gabriella whimpering at the loss of contact. Troy smiled at this. "Ok…so I'm going to go so you can get ready. I'll pick you up at 6:45. Dress formal."

Troy left and Gabriella looked at the clock. It was already 5:30. She jumped in the shower before applying her makeup and finding the perfect dress to wear. She finally decided on a red, spaghetti strap dress that went to mid-calf, along with black heels and a black sweater.

At 6:45, Gabriella heard her doorbell ring. She quickly went to answer the door. When she opened the door, she came face to face with her very handsome boyfriend who was dressed in a black tux.

Troy looked at Gabriella. He was speechless at first. When he finally was able to form words again, he looked at Gabriella and smiled. "Wow, Gabriella, you look amazing."

"Thanks, you don't clean up so bad yourself."

Troy offered Gabriella his arm as he led her downstairs to his car. Troy took her to the most expensive Italian restaurant in town. Gabriella was surprised and a little worried about Troy spending all this money on her.

They had a nice dinner. They each filled the other in on what was going on at their respective colleges and what they had to finish to be ready for graduation, which they were both excited about. At the end of their dinner, Troy stopped talking and just stared at Gabriella.

"What?"

Troy looked lovingly at Gabriella. "I love you more than you will ever know."

Gabriella blushed, surprised at how his words still affected her even after six years. "I love you, too, Troy."

Once the check was paid at the restaurant, Troy took Gabriella to a nearby park. He spread out a blanket on the grass and sat down, leaning his back up against a tree before patting the spot in between his legs, signaling for Gabriella to sit there. Gabriella sat down and settled herself comfortably up against Troy with her back up against his chest and her head tucked in next to his neck. Troy put his arms around her and they sat there looking up at the stars. Gabriella sat there thinking about how happy and safe she felt right now. Then she began to think about what was going to happen for the two of them and several what-ifs popped into her head. _What if this next week turns out to be like last week? What if I don't see him for another week? What if we plan dates and he continues to cancel? What if this is all an act or cover up? What if he really was cheating on me and the girl he was dating broke up with him, so now he's just settling for second best?_ Gabriella tensed at that thought. She didn't want to think about all those things, but she couldn't help it. So many things had happened and they really hadn't fully discussed all of those things.

Troy felt Gabriella suddenly tense up in his arms and he began to get worried. "Hey, babe, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Troy sighed. "I know we haven't seen much of each other lately, but I still know you enough to know that when you are tense there is something wrong. Now what is it?"

Gabriella started crying. She wants to trust Troy, but all the signs were there that he was cheating on her. "Troy, I don't want to be second best. If you were dating someone else, please just tell me. I don't want you to feel obligated to be here with me. I know that I should trust you but all the signs have been there making me feel unsure and making me think…"

Troy cuts her off by kissing her neck. "Obligated? You think I feel obligated to be here with you? Believe me, I feel privileged to be here. I love _you_. I want to be with _you._ You are _THE_ best person for me; my number one. I'm sorry I have been so distracted lately and I've been busy. And if you doubt my "excuses" for not being here, I'm sorry for that too. I really was working on homework and I just wanted to get it done so I could spend time with you. I wasn't trying to cancel all our dates. I have just been overwhelmed lately trying to get caught back up on things because I have had another priority recently."

"Really? What?" Gabriella looked up at Troy.

Troy looked down into Gabriella's eyes and smiled. "You."

Gabriella looked at Troy, confused. "Me? Why have I become a priority? Right now you should focus on getting your homework done, and I'm sorry if I made you feel bad about that. I should have never made you feel like you had to put me first."

"You didn't make me feel that way. I made myself feel that way, and I hope it pays off."

Gabriella frowned at this and Troy smiled. "Gabriella Anne Montez, I love you with all of my heart. I gave it to you a long time ago and I could never ask for it back. I don't want it back because I would never want to try to give it to someone else. It belongs to you and always will. Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Gabriella had tears come to her eyes. "Yes," she whispered.

Troy pulled the ring out of his pocket and showed it to her before reaching around and placing it on her left ring finger.

"This was my distraction the whole week. And if you must know, this is another reason why I didn't make it to dinner on Friday night. My parents knew about this, though, and were more than happy to let me skip out on a dinner with them so that I could finish up making plans for the proposal as well as finish writing my paper. I have been trying to plan the perfect proposal. I was going to wait until graduation, but after seeing your doubts, I wanted to ensure that you know how much I love you and only you."

"I'm sorry for ever doubting you and ruining your plans."

"It's ok. And you didn't ruin my plans. You made them better because I definitely surprised you, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. I definitely wasn't expecting this to happen tonight, although I must say I was getting rather impatient with you about when you were going to propose. I was almost to the point of proposing to you." Troy laughed at this then kissed Gabriella.

Gabriella leaned back into Troy and smiled while staring up at the stars. She thought of all the pain and happiness she had experienced this week, but she could finally say that when in doubt, trust your heart and your love.


End file.
